Welcome back to this week’s edition of 2-Minute Tuesdays. This week we are talking to those of you who have not been catching enough z’s and are short on sleep. How do you manage to still get your workout in even though you are not getting your sleep in?
1) Watch Your Intensity
Our first exercise tip if you are short on sleep is to watch your intensity. When you are short on sleep, your body is likely not recovering well. This gives an opportunity for you to implement a recovery day, even if it wasn’t planned. We recommend using the 50% rule, which means you do 50% of the volume you normally would and/or use 50% of the load you normally would during your workouts. This will get your blood moving and your muscles squeezing without being overly taxing on your system.
Action Step: Looking for recovery-specific workouts? Check out The MAS At-Home Workout Program to get video-guided recovery workouts, in addition to a bunch of other workouts, too.
Related: Sleep Deprivation – How To Exercise When You Are Sleep Deprived
2) Prioritize Contraction
Our second exercise tip if you are short on sleep is to prioritize the contraction of your muscles while you are exercising. This is something we recommend for all of your workouts, but it becomes imperative that you prioritize contractions when you are sleep deprived. Reason being, it will bring the focus of your workouts from your external environment back to the internal function of your body, which will help you keep your exercise appropriate and avoid overdoing it.
Action Step: Specifically when you are doing resistance training, focus on squeezing your muscles instead of trying to lift the weight. Among other benefits, this will force you to have to lower the amount of weight you are using, which will help you adhere to the 50% rule mentioned above.
Related: Sleeping poorly? Take these tips into consideration with your workouts.
3) Try Your Best To Do Something
Our third exercise tip if you are short on sleep is to try your best to do some kind of activity throughout your day. Often, when people are not feeling 100%, they may decide that they are not able to exercise. But, this is actually when exercise can be the most beneficial! So even if you haven’t been getting as much sleep as you would like, make it a priority to get in some kind of physical activity throughout your day.
Action Step: Looking for a way to get your workouts in at home without having to decide how you are going to exercise? Download The MAS At-Home Workout Program and follow our video-guided 75-day plan to keep you moving!
